Inverted steam chest mounting for ironing machines



July 23, 1968 w. D. KEMP INVERTED STEAM CHEST MOUNTING FOR IRONING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 2, 1966 INVENTOR W/LL/AM D. KEMP ii?! I AGENT W. D. KEMP INVERTED STEAM CHEST MOUNTING FOR July 23, 1968 IRONING MACHINES Filed Feb. 2, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR D. KE MP l WILL IAM United States Patent 3,393,463 INVERTED STEAM CHEST MOUNTING FOR IRONING MACHINES William D. Kemp, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to McGraw- Edison Company, Elgin, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 524,378 7 Claims. (Cl. 38-56) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to ironing machines having heavy padded rollers which are rotated in upright trough-like steam chests under the pressure of their own weight and having at the output end an additional roller on which an inverted steam chest rests under the pressure of its own weight but at an oblique angle so that the pressure of the steam chest 0n the cooperating roller approximates that of the prior rollers on the cooperating chests. The inverted steam chest is pivoted at its ends on a longitudinal axis through its center of gravity to a pair of support arms and the support arms are in turn pivoted to the frame. The pivoting of the inverted steam chest to the support arms at the center of gravity of the chest enables the chest to engage the roller evenly and to follow better any surface eccentricities in the roller.

In ironing machines as above-described, the fiatwork pieces receive an ironed sheen or finish on their lower sides from the upright steam chests and an ironed finish on their upper sides from the inverted steam chest.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting for such inverted steam chest which enables the steam chest to ride smoothly and evenly on the cooperating padded roller to provide a more effective ironing action.

A feature of the invention resides in providing the inverted steam chest with a first freedom of pivotal movement to permit the same to engage the roller under gravitational force and to provide the steam chest with a second freedom of pivotal movement about its own center of gravity to permit the steam chest to follow eccentricities which may occur in the padding on the roller so that the steam chest can conform evenly with the roller and produce a better ironing effect.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of my invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a right-hand end view of the output end portion of a fiatwork ironing machine showing the last ironing roller engaged by an inverted steam chest mounted in a novel manner in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a back view of the inverted steam chest taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a left-hand end view of the output end portion of the ironing machine; and

FIGURE 4 is a fractional sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2.

A flatwork ironing machine of the character mentioned comprises a series of overhead ironing rollers and respective steam chests of which a last roller and steam chest 11 are shown in FIGURE 1. The roller 10 has a shaft 10a journaled in a fiatwork ironer frame not shown, and is provided with a padded peripheral surface 10b. The cooperating steam chest 11 has a polished trough-like ironing surface which includes a central arcuate portion 11a of approximately 104 arcuate length conforming to the roller 10 and front and rear end portions 11b and 110 which are curved reversely away from the roller. The

3,393,463 Patented July 23, 1968 "ice roller 10 rests with its entire weight in the trough-like chest and is driven in the direction of the arrow A by a suitable motor coupled to the shaft 10a not herein shown. A sheet 13 is fed between the roller and steam chest and propelled in a forward direction by the rotating roller. The sliding movement of the sheet on the polished ironing surface 1121 gives the underside of the sheet an ironed finish.

At the output side of the roller 10 the sheet 13 is led off the chest 11 by guide tapes 14 trained around the ironer roller 10 and a tubular guide 12. The tubular guide 12 is positioned so as to direct the sheet 13 over a bridging strip 12a onto another ironer roller 15 provided with a padded peripheral surface 15a. The roller 15 has shaft extensions 15b journaled in bearings 150. The roller 15 is engaged by an inverted steam chest 16 secured at its ends to support arms 17 and 18. These arms extend obliquely downwardly and rearwardly and are provided with transverse shafts 19 and 20 at their lower ends which pivot in respective bearings 21 and 22. These bearings as well as the aforementioned bearings are mounted on a frame 23. The frame is of a heavy construction comprising a pair of front upright angle irons 24 which are fastened to the fiatwork ironer frame, and a pair of rear angle irons 25 of lesser height which are secured as'by welding to side members 26 and to cross members 27 to form a rectangular construction. The bridging strip 12a spans the distance between the angle irons 24 and is secured to the steam chest 11.

The steam chest 16, like the chest 11, has a polished trough-like ironing surface which includes a central portion 16a of approximately 104 arcuate length conforming to the roller 15 and top and bottom surface portions 16b and 16c which are curved reversely away from the roller 15. The chest 16 is of a hollow construction having a steam inlet pipe 28 at its upper right end wall (FIGURE 1) and a steam outlet pipe 29 leading from its lower end (FIGURE 3).

The pivot bearings 21 and 22 are located below and to the rear of the roller 15 so that the inverted steam chest 16 will engage the upper rearward portion of the roller 15 responsive to its own weight. Typically, the steam chest is supported so that its medial radial plane M is at a mounting angle 0 of from 30 to 45 with the horizontal and so that a tangent line of the roller 15 through the pivot center of the shafts 19 and 20 is at right angles to this medial plane. Thus, any incremental movement of the midpoint of the arcuate ironing surface 16a will be in directions radial to the roller when the steam chest is in engagement with the roller. Also, the force of the steam chest against the roller is then less than the weight of the chest by the factor, tangent 6. By this mounting method the force of the heavier steam chest against the lighter ironing roller is made about equivalent to the force of the respective rollers against the cooperating steam chests in the prior roller-chest combinations 10-11 wherein each roller is mounted overhead and biased against the respective chest by its own weight.

Surrounding the ironing roller 15 are guide tapes 30 which are led downwardly past the bottom arcuate surface of the steam chest and thence around a V- shaped guide 31. From the guide 31 the tape is led forwardly and downwardly around grooved rollers 32 and thence upwardly back onto the ironing roller 15. The guide rollers 32 are supported by bell crank levers 33 pivoted at 33' to an angle bar 34 which in turn is mounted on supporting brackets 34' in a manner permitting the guide rollers to be shifted laterally at times so that the tapes do not wear tracks in the rollers 15. These levers are suitably biased by the weight of the bell crank levers 33 to provide the desired tensioning of the guide tapes. The guide tapes 30 serve to strip the sheet 13 from the ironing roller 15 and to direct the sheet downwardly onto a conveyor belt moving rearwardly and upwardly'from the ironing machine The conveyor belt is trained around a bottom roller 36 journaled between the side frame members 26 and a second guide roller not shown on a folding machine at the rear of the ironer. The conveyor 35 is utilized to carry the sheet to a folding apparatus (not shown) which may be supported in part by a frame 37 secured by brackets 38 and bolts 39 to the frame 23.

'Pivoted at 40 to the upper ends of the support arms 17 and 18 are link members 41 and 42 of adjustable length having slotted heads 41a and 42a traversed by respective pivot pins 43 and 44 of respective lever arms 45 and 46 'to provide a lost-motion coupling to these arms. The lever arms 45 and 46 are secured to a transverse shaft 47 journaled in the upper end portions of the frame members 24. Secured to the left end of the shaft 47 is a crank 48 pivotally connected to the upper end of a piston 49 of an air cylinder 50. The lower end of this cylinder is pivotally connected to a bracket 51 on the frame 23. In the unoperated position of the air cylinder the coupling pins 43 and 44 are midway the slotted heads41a and 42a to allow the steam chest 16 to rest freely on the roller 15 without restraint. When the air cylinder is actuated by compressed air via a nipple 52 at the bottom end thereof the piston is propelled upwardly to turn the shaft 47 clockwise as it appears in FIGURE 3, the effect of which is to shift the steam chest 16 slightly away from the ironer roller 15 to permit servicing of the roller and chest.

The practice has been heretofore to secure the inverted steam chest rigidly to its support arms so that it has only a single pivotal freedom of movement. It has been found that such single pivotal mounting does not allow for eccentr-ieities which develop in the padding on the ironer roller and that, as a result, the steam chests have not ridden evenly on the rollers to provide a goOd ironing action. By the present invention, the steam chest 16 is mounted with a second freedom of movement by pivotally connecting it to the support arms 17 and 18. Preferably, the pivotal connection to the support arms is made at the center of gravity of the steam chest so that the steam chest has maximum freedom to follow eccentricities in the roller.

As shown in the figures, each support arm 17 and 18 comprises a pair of spaced identical side members formed from fiat stock and referred to by the reference character of the arm with the suflix letters a and b. The side members are joined together in a spaced parallel relationship by blocks 53 at their lower ends, by two intermediate crossbars 54 and 55 (FIGURE 4) inset from the outer edge of the side members and by two additional crossbars 56 and 57 beyond the crossbars 54 and 55 at the inner edge of the side members. The block and crossbars are all secured in place as by welding.

Secured also as by welding to the outer sides of the central portions of the side members at points midway between the crossbars 54 and 55 are straps 58 which extend beyond the inner edge of the side members. Each pair of straps 58 are aligned transversely of the support arm. On the extending portions of the straps are plates 58a secured as by welding to provide these extending portions with a greater thickness. Each pair of extending portions has holes aligned transversely of the support members received by a cross pin 59. The cross pin is secured rigidly to the straps 58 by set screws 590.

Between the side members of each support arm is a rocker bar 60 having a reinforcing rib 61 at the top and a depending block 62 midway between its length. This block has a transverse bearing hole 63 (FIGURE 4) received by the respective pin 59. As so pivotally connected, the rocker bar 60 is positioned partially below the side members of the respective support arm as shown in FIGURE 4. Extending sidewise from each end of the steam chest 16 is a pair of spaced lugs 65 which are secured by bolts 66 to the underside of the opposite end portions of the rocker bar. The holes in the side lugs 65 through which the bolts 66 pass are elongated slightly in the vertical plane and interposed between the upper side lug 65 and the bearing block 62 is an adjusting screw 67 threaded in the bearing block. By adjustment of this screw each end of the steam chest can be shifted in directions transverse to the medial plane M to bring the steam chest into a true concentric relationship with the padded roller 15. After such adjustment is made the screws 67 are locked in place by lock nuts 68. In this concentric relationship, the pivot pins 59 are located at the center of gravity of the steam chest 16. Thus, the steam chest is pivotally connected to the support arms 17 and 18 in a balanced condition so that it can respond freely to variations in the padded roller 15 and follow the roller more evenly to provide a better ironing action.

In order to place a limit on the pivotal movement of the steam chest relative to the support arms 17 and 18 when the support arms are shifted by the air cylinder 50 to disengage the steam chest 16 from the roller 15, there are stop screws 69 threaded through the crossbars 54 and 55 into positions adjacent to the upper side of the opposite end portions of the rocker bar. After the stop screws are threaded into the desired limiting positions they are secured in place by lock nuts 70.

.The embodiment of my invention herein particularly shown and described is intended to be illustrative and not necessarily limitative of my invention since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope of my invention, which I endeavor to set forth by the following claims.

I claim: a

1. In a flatwork ironing apparatus: the combination of a frame, a cylindrical ironing roller journaled to said frame on a horizontal axis, an inverted steam chest having an arcuate ironing surface in conforming relation to said ironing roller, and means mounting said steam chest to engage said ironing roller under pressure responsive to its own weight comprising a pair of support arms respectively at opposite ends of said steam chest, means pivotally connecting said support arms respectively to said frame, and means pivotally connecting said steam chest to said support arms on a horizontal axis substantially at the center of gravity of the steam chest.

2. The flatwork ironing apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said steam chest has a greater weight than said roller and wherein the pivot axes of said support arms on said frame are in positions relative to the journal axis of said roller to cause the steam chest to engage said roller at an acute angle with the horizontal whereby the force of the steam chest against said roller approximates the weight of said roller.

3. The flatwork ironing apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the pivotal connections of said support arms to said frame are located relative to the journal axis of said roller to cause the incremental movement of the midpoint of said arcuate ironing surface of said steam chest to be in direction-s radial to said roller when said steam chest is in engagement with the roller.

4. In a flatworkironing apparatus: the combination of a frame, a rotatable cylindrical ironing roller provided with a peripheral padding and journaled to said frame on a horizontal axis, a steam chest having an arcuate ironing surface conforming to said roller over at least a 104 peripheral length of the roller, said steam chest being biased against said roller under pressure of its own weight, separate support arms at the ends of said steam chest having individual pivotal connections to said frame to provide said stearrr chest with a pivotal freedom of movement relative to said roller in directions radial t0 the roller when the steam chest is in engagement therewith, and other pivotal connections between said support arms and said steam chest on a horizontal axis at substantially the center of gravity of the steam chest to provide said steam chest with a secondfreedom of pivotal movement allowing the steam chest to conform better to the peripheral surface of the ironing roller.

5. The flatwork ironing apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said support arms comprises a pair of flat side members, cross members between said side members for holding the side members in a spaced parallel relationship, strap members welded to intermediate portions of said side members and depending from said side members in spaced parallel relation to each other, the depending portions of said strap members having bearing holes aligned transversely of the support arms, said steam chest having a pair of spaced coplanar lugs extending sidewise from each end of the chest, a rocker bar secured to and bridging each pair of said coplanar lugs, said rocker bar having a sufliciently narrow width to fit between the side members of the respective support arm, a bearing block secured to and depending from an intermediate portion of each of said rocker bars, each of said bearing blocks having a transverse bearing hole, and a shaft extending through the bearing holes in each pair of said strap members and through the respective bearing block of said rocker bar for pivotally connecting said steam chest to said support arms. A

6. The fiatwork ironing apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein said shafts are located on a transverse line approximately at the center of gravity of said steam chest.

7. The flatwork ironing apparatus set forth in claim 5 including adjustable stop members threaded through said cross members into positions confronting opposite end portions of said rocker bar for limiting the extent of pivotal movement of said steam chest relative to said support arms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,652,644 9/1953 Howlett 3854 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

